Bigfoot tracker to show off his catch in San Antonio, Houston

Updated 4:04 pm, Tuesday, January 28, 2014

SAN ANTONIO — Absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence, scientist Carl Sagan famously said.

Those are words Rick Dyer, who describes himself as a “master tracker” of Bigfoot, never has to utter again.

As the website Snopes.com points out, Dyer made similar claims in 2008 when he claimed to have killed Bigfoot. When Dyer revealed the specimen at a press conference, it turned out to be a rubber ape suit.

But Dyer, 36, says he killed an 8-foot-tall Bigfoot in San Antonio in 2012 with a 30-06 rifle after he lured “the beast” near his tent with a set of Wal-Mart ribs he rubbed with a secret ingredient.

“I know it sounds crazy, but it's true,” said Dyer, who is coming back to the Alamo City and Houston in February to showcase his catch.

He tows the corpse behind a 40-foot coach in a trailer across the country to show folks just how real Bigfoot is.

“A lot of times they don't believe it,” he said. “You can show someone something that is real, but they won't, or can't, believe it because they think it doesn't exist.”

Rick Dyer, 36, says he killed an 8-foot-tall Bigfoot in San Antonio in 2012 with a 30-06 rifle after he lured “the Beast” near his tent with a set of Wal-Mart ribs he rubbed with a secret ingredient.

Rick Dyer, 36, says he killed an 8-foot-tall Bigfoot in San Antonio in 2012 with a 30-06 rifle after he lured “the Beast” near his tent with a set of Wal-Mart ribs he rubbed with a secret ingredient.

Photo: Courtesy Rick Dyer

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Rick Dyer, 36, says he killed an 8-foot-tall Bigfoot in San Antonio in 2012 with a 30-06 rifle after he lured “the Beast” near his tent with a set of Wal-Mart ribs he rubbed with a secret ingredient.

Rick Dyer, 36, says he killed an 8-foot-tall Bigfoot in San Antonio in 2012 with a 30-06 rifle after he lured “the Beast” near his tent with a set of Wal-Mart ribs he rubbed with a secret ingredient.

Photo: Courtesy Rick Dyer

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Rick Dyer, 36, says he killed an 8-foot-tall Bigfoot in San Antonio in 2012 with a 30-06 rifle after he lured “the Beast” near his tent with a set of Wal-Mart ribs he rubbed with a secret ingredient.

Rick Dyer, 36, says he killed an 8-foot-tall Bigfoot in San Antonio in 2012 with a 30-06 rifle after he lured “the Beast” near his tent with a set of Wal-Mart ribs he rubbed with a secret ingredient.

Photo: Courtesy Rick Dyer

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Rick Dyer

Rick Dyer

Photo: BigfootTracker.com

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Rick Dyer

Rick Dyer

Photo: BigfootTracker.com

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Rick Dyer

Rick Dyer

Photo: BigfootTracker.com

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Huge, smelly and hairy, this mythical ape-man has vexed believers who say he exists. The California filmmakers of this famous 1967 image said this was the real thing, but doubters have said the creature looked to be holding a metal thing that looked suspiciously like a beer can. less

Huge, smelly and hairy, this mythical ape-man has vexed believers who say he exists. The California filmmakers of this famous 1967 image said this was the real thing, but doubters have said the creature looked ... more

Folks in Cotton Island, La., said this 14-inch footprint was left by a Bigfoot creature in 2000. But anthropologists said the track was too shallow for an animal the size of Bigfoot.

Folks in Cotton Island, La., said this 14-inch footprint was left by a Bigfoot creature in 2000. But anthropologists said the track was too shallow for an animal the size of Bigfoot.

Photo: AP Photo/Daily Town Talk, Todd Drumwright, AP

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This image comes from the 1976 movie, ''The Legend of Bigfoot,'' made by an animal tracker named Ivan Marx who said this really, really was a Bigfoot in Washington.

This image comes from the 1976 movie, ''The Legend of Bigfoot,'' made by an animal tracker named Ivan Marx who said this really, really was a Bigfoot in Washington.

Photo: Getty Images

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More shadowy Bigfoot sightings, this time in a northern Georgia forest in June of 2008. Bigfoot Global LLC provided this image.

More shadowy Bigfoot sightings, this time in a northern Georgia forest in June of 2008. Bigfoot Global LLC provided this image.

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A close-up of the 2008 ''Bigfoot of Georgia.''

A close-up of the 2008 ''Bigfoot of Georgia.''

Photo: Bigfoot Global, LLC

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Hunter Rick Jacobs showed off this image taken in Pennsylvania's Allegheny National Forest in 2007. Was it Bigfoot or a bear with a bad skin infection?

Hunter Rick Jacobs showed off this image taken in Pennsylvania's Allegheny National Forest in 2007. Was it Bigfoot or a bear with a bad skin infection?

Photo: AP Photo/Rick Jacobs

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More proof of Bigfoot: A giant footprint found in Northern California and now on display in the state's Willow Creek-China Flat Museum. It's known for its Bigfoot exhibit.

More proof of Bigfoot: A giant footprint found in Northern California and now on display in the state's Willow Creek-China Flat Museum. It's known for its Bigfoot exhibit.

Photo: Associated Press

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Bigfoot hunter Tom Biscardi holds a photo of what he claims to be the mouth and teeth of a deceased Bigfoot or sasquatch creature during a news conference on Aug. 15, 2008, in Palo Alto, Calif.

Bigfoot hunter Tom Biscardi holds a photo of what he claims to be the mouth and teeth of a deceased Bigfoot or sasquatch creature during a news conference on Aug. 15, 2008, in Palo Alto, Calif.

Photo: (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

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Not exactly ''irrefutable evidence'' … but something made those prints on display at the Bigfoot Discovery Museum in Felton, Calif., near the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park.

Not exactly ''irrefutable evidence'' … but something made those prints on display at the Bigfoot Discovery Museum in Felton, Calif., near the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park.

Photo: Christine Delsol, San Francisco Chronicle

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Interesting how the toes of Bigfoot prints are always so ... perfect-looking. This print is a copy of another print made in 1963, supposedly found near where the famous 1967 Bigfoot film was made. The footprint is on display at the Willow Creek-China Flat Museum in California. less

Interesting how the toes of Bigfoot prints are always so ... perfect-looking. This print is a copy of another print made in 1963, supposedly found near where the famous 1967 Bigfoot film was made. The footprint ... more

Photo: Michael Macor/San Francisco Chronicle

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This is John Kirk, president of the Scientific Cryptozoology Club in Burnaby, B.C., in 1999.

This is John Kirk, president of the Scientific Cryptozoology Club in Burnaby, B.C., in 1999.

Photo: Lorne Green/file Photo

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More perfect toes, this time in snow circa 1951, from the Menlung Basin in Nepal. They allegedly belong to the ''abominable snowman'' or ''yeti.''

More perfect toes, this time in snow circa 1951, from the Menlung Basin in Nepal. They allegedly belong to the ''abominable snowman'' or ''yeti.''

Photo: Popperfoto/Getty Images

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This image, circa 1961, of monster-like footprints came from an expedition to Mount Everest.

This image, circa 1961, of monster-like footprints came from an expedition to Mount Everest.

Photo: Popperfoto/Getty Images

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This sign is from Pikes Peak Highway in Colorado.

This sign is from Pikes Peak Highway in Colorado.

Photo: John Yang, Signspotting.com

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Now for some photos showing the important cultural significance of Bigfoot. In 1976, the ''Bionic Woman'' (pictured) had to turn to Bigfoot to help save the ''Six Million Dollar Man's'' life.

Now for some photos showing the important cultural significance of Bigfoot. In 1976, the ''Bionic Woman'' (pictured) had to turn to Bigfoot to help save the ''Six Million Dollar Man's'' life.

Photo: ABC Via Getty Images

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How did the bionic heroes encounter Bigfoot? When the ''Six Million Dollar Man'' was trying to set up an earthquake warning system, of course. The actor known as ''Andre the Giant'' played Bigfoot in the two-part episode. less

How did the bionic heroes encounter Bigfoot? When the ''Six Million Dollar Man'' was trying to set up an earthquake warning system, of course. The actor known as ''Andre the Giant'' played Bigfoot in the ... more

Photo: ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

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Bigfoot was also key to the 1980s John Lithgow movie, ''Harry and the Hendersons.''

Bigfoot was also key to the 1980s John Lithgow movie, ''Harry and the Hendersons.''

Photo: Universal City Studios, Inc

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Here's the ape-man model from the 1977 movie ''Yeti.''

Here's the ape-man model from the 1977 movie ''Yeti.''

Photo: Getty Images

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No need for shaky film footage when you can sketch Bigfoot, like in this depiction by artist David Johnson. So Bigfoot chasers, to win that $1 million, you have until March 13, 2014, when the contest ends.

No need for shaky film footage when you can sketch Bigfoot, like in this depiction by artist David Johnson. So Bigfoot chasers, to win that $1 million, you have until March 13, 2014, when the contest ends.

Photo: David Johnson

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Bigfoot tracker to show off his catch in San Antonio, Houston

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Dyer killed the mysterious creature in a wooded area near Texas 151 and Loop 1604, he said Sept. 6, 2012.

After getting “leads” from homeless locals, Dyer set up a tent in the woods and booby trapped trees around his tent with ribs he purchased from Wal-Mart, who in fact does have the best ribs for Bigfoot-huntin', as well as the best return policy.

“I woke up to the sound of bones crushing,” Dyer said. “I knew it was a Bigfoot eating the ribs I hung, so I grabbed my cell phone and filmed it.”

Dyer then went back to his preferred hunting equipment super store to rack up some more ribs, returned to the danger zone, and lured the Bigfoot back within shooting range.

It's no wonder that Dyer calls himself “the best Bigfoot tracker in the world.”

Dyer says he killed the monstrous animal with three shots in the back and neck.

“I have a lot of haters,” said Dyer, of Atlanta. “But they can all kiss my a-- … because I have more proof than there's ever been.”

“We don't acknowledge that one exists, but if you wanted to shoot and kill a Bigfoot in the state of Texas you would just need a hunting license,” Major Larry Young, game warden with Texas Parks and Wildlife, joked Tuesday.

Young said that although it's legal, he doesn't exactly think it is moral.

"It's kind of like shooting a person," he said.

“We can't prohibit anyone from hunting fictional characters, including Sasquatch, Chupacabra and other urban myths,” said Steve Lightfoot with Texas Parks and Wildlife.

The master tracker says he refuses to give a hair or meat sample for research, because he already has the proof. He said “a university” is testing the animal, but that he has a nondisclosure agreement and cannot reveal which “university.”

Dyer said the locations in San Antonio and Houston and the exact dates still are being worked out.